Sunday, September 11, 2011

Grilled Beer Bratwust And Warm Potato Salad

Tonight, while I sat at the kitchen counter savoring my "light" Sunday evening fare, I couldn't stop thinking of all the occasions I could serve these at. Here at the lake I would serve them on Friday night, arrival time for weekend guests. How about for a tailgate picnic or a steeplechase? Football night with the boys? Saturday lunch with hubby after golf game? Saturday evening's poker game? Dinner at the sky house? I could go on forever, but it is getting late and I want to get back to my book, Queen of the Desert...Gertrude Bell...have you read about her? you don't know what you are missing!)

Contrary to what you may think, this was not a heavy meal. At least I haven't reached for the Pepto Bismol yet. It is going down rather nice.....

Like cooking with wine, you don’t want to use the cheapest beer here, but don’t use your nice one either — just something good that you’d want to drink, preferably German and dark. The handy thing about cooking the bratwurst this way is that if you’re having a big crowd, you can grill the brats a bit ahead of time and put them back in the warm beer for awhile until you’re ready to serve them. By the way, the brown sugar is my idea so omit if you want.

Warm Potato Salad

1 1/2 lbs. red bliss potatoes

1 cup leeks, sliced

2 TBs olive oil

3 TB.s chopped white onion

2 TBS. chives

2 mashed and chopped garlic cloves

1 TB apple cider vinegar

2 TB white wine

2 TB Dijon style mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions

Boil potatoes until tender depending on size. In the meantime. to a skillet add the 2 tbs. oil and leeks and sautee until soft. Remove to a bowl. Add the mustard, chives, vinegar, garlic, wine and the 1/2 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are done, let them cool a bit. Slice them in 1/2 inch and toss with the dressing, being careful not to over toss and break the potatoes. They can be served mildly hot or room temperature.

You can add the wurst to the potato salad or serve separately.

For the bratwurst or knockwurst

Ingredients12 bratwurst (or more, depending on how many people you’re serving or how many sausages per person you want to serve)

1 onion, peeled and halved

1 or 2 cans/bottles of beer (enough to cover the bratwurst)

2 to 3 TBS. dark sugar (optional)

Saurkraut (optional) *

toasted hot dog buns or pumpernickel bread to serve

Directions

Prick each bratwurst a few times with a fork. Place them in a large pot or saucepan with the sliced onion. Cover with the beer, add the brown sugar and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the bratwurst are cooked through. Remove the brats from the beer and grill them on a hot BBQ for about 5 minutes, turning to make sure they’re golden brown on all sides. Boil down the beer, brown sugar, onion sauce and sauerkraut (if using) and return brat to skillet. They can stay warm on top of the oven. Serve on lightly toasted hot dog buns or brown bread.

All photos Lindaraxa

on 2/15/14 I added sauerkraut* Next day cooked the leftovers on Naan for a delicious German pizza. Preheat oven 425. Bake the naan until it puffs up a bit. remove from the oven. Top with leftover sauerkraut, brats and potatoes. Back in the oven for about 10 minutes until nam is crisp.